AN  ADDRESS 


DELIVERED  BEFORE  THE 


N.  Y.  STATE  TEACHERS’  ASSOCIATION, 


AT 


LOCKPORT,  AUGUST  5,  1858, 


Wi\  \ 3.rd 

BY  EMERSON  W.  KEYES, 

dep.  supt.  of  public  instruction. 


ALBANY: 

PUBLISHED  BY  JAMES  CRUIKSHANK, 
No.  35  STATE  STREET 


THE  EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM 


OF  THE 


STATE  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: 

It  has  been  oftentimes  remarked  that  Education  is  a thread-bare 
theme.  But  why  should  it  be  so  esteemed  ? True,  the  theme  is  old. 
More  than  two  thousand  years  ago  Socrates  instructed  Athenian 
youth  in  the  principles  of  reason,  virtue  and  truth,  and  Plato  hal- 
lowed the  groves  of  Academus  by  lessons  of  wisdom,  which  time’s 
obliterating  finger  has  not  yet,  nor  ever  shall  efface  from  the  heart 
nor  mind  of  man.  True,  it  is  an  oft  recurring  theme.  In  it  do  poets 
find,  the  inspirations  of  immortal  verse;  philosophers  are  never  weary 
of  investigating  its  phases,  and  of  analyzing  its  occult  elements; 
sages  dwell  with  impressive  gravity  upon  its  worth  and  the  perils 
that  are  sure  to  follow  its  neglect;  statesmen  seize  upon  it  as  the 
corner  stone  of  the  political  institutions  which  they  so  elaborately 
construct;  it  is  the  hobby  on  which  demagogues  seek  to  ride  over 
the  path  of  popular  favor  into  places  of  power  and  trust  and  profit; 
from  the  pulpit  it  is  extolled  as  the  handmaid  of  religion,  designed 
to  elevate  and  adorn  the  Christian  character  and  life;  the  lawyer 
pleads  its  want  in  extenuation  of  the  offence  of  his  client;  the  judge 
admits  the  plea,. and  mitigates  the  penalty  which  the  commission  of 
crime  has  incurred;  the  press  everywhere  enforces  upon  the  public 
mind  the  importance  of  ample  educational  facilities,  knowing  well 
that  these  are  the  only  guarantee  of  that  pervading  intelligence 
upon  which  its  own  existence  depends;  twelve  thousand  temples 
dedicated  to  rudimental  science,  by  their  unpretending  presence  si- 
lently bear  witness  to  the  deep  and  abiding  hold  which  this  subject 
has  upon  the  public  mind;  while  in  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
homes  it  is  the  shrine  to  which  half  a million  parents  make  their 
costliest  sacrifices  for  the  promotion  of  the  highest  welfare  of  their 
little  ones.  But  other  themes  as  old  and  as  perpetually  recurring  as 
this,  are  not  lost  to  human  interest — do  not  fail  to  inspire  enthusiasm 
and  stimulate  to  high  endeavor. 


1 


2 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


Science  has  not  lost  its  novelty,  because  it  is  older  than  the  phi- 
losophy of  Plato,  and  every  day  we  are  called  to  witness  some  of 
its  wonder-workings,  to  follow  its  guidance  over  untried  paths  in 
the  fields  of  remoter  space,  to  realize  some  newly  found  relation  in 
the  infinite  nature  that  surrounds  us,  or  to  admire  the  subtlety  of 
the  analysis  and  the  grandeur  of  the  generalizations  which  the  “che- 
mistry of  the  sunbeam”  unfolds.  Invention  has  not  ceased  to  inte- 
r rest  man,  though  Tubal  Cain  was  born  Anno  Mundi  1100  instead  of 
Anno  Domini  1800,  nor  because  patent  paddles  for  the  sea,  patent 
reapers  for  the' land,  patent  churns  for  the  kitchen,  patent  cradles 
for  the  nursery,  patent  plasters  for  the  poor,  patent  pills  for  the  sick, 
and  patent  coffins  for  the  dead — are  thrust  upon  our  notice  at  every 
corner  of  every  street,  and  pursue  us  with  merciless  clamor  every- 
where, until  we  long  for  one  patent  more — patent  brains  for  such  as 
can  not  discern  where  enterprise  ceases  and  impertinence  begins. 
Has  Poetry  lost  its  charm  because  it  was  nine  hundred  years  before 
the  Christian  era  that  sightless  Homer,  with  the  wrapt  vision  of  in- 
spiration glowing  in  his  soul,  sang  those  strains  that  have  made  his 
name  immortal  ? or  because  in  humbler  verse  a countless  host  of 
bards,  of  high  and  low,  and  no  degree,  call  to  us  from  gilded  volumes, 
or  more  modestly  pour  forth  their  plaintive  platitudes  at  the  “poePs 
corner”  of  the  rural  press  ? Does  this  profusion  render  Shakspeare’s 
genius  less  universal,  or  mar  the  sublimity  of  Milton’s  verse,  or  unfit 
us  for  listening  to  the  swelling  periods  and  stately  march  of  “Thana- 
topsis,”  or  “The  Forest  Hymn”  of  Bryant’s  muse,  or  to  the  sweet 
and  mournful  numbers  of  “Angel  Footsteps”  and  the  “Psalm  of 
Life  ?”  Do  we  weary  of  Art  because  the  colors  of  the  painter  are  un- 
changed since  God  set  his  bow  in  the  clouds,  or  the  lapse  of  ages 
has  failed  to  produce  new  forms  for  the  sculptor’s  study?  because 
each  day  challenges  our  admiration  for  some  new  combination  of  the 
infinite  beauties  of  the  out-spread  earth,  some  new  triumph  of  man’s 
imitative  skill  in  the  re-creation  of  nature’s  glories,  some  fresh  blend- 
ing of  hues,  some  rare  touches  that  reveal  forms  living  only  in  the 
vague  ideal,  until  genius  imparts  to  them  a realness  almost  instinct 
with  life  ? 

And  yet  Education,  as  an  objective  theme  of  contemplation,  is 
not  older  than  Science,  or  Invention,  or  Poetry,  or  Art;  it  does  not 
oftener  obtrude  upon  our  notice  than  these;  nor,  rightly  viewed, 
is  it  more  exhausted  than  they.  Associated  as  it  is  with  the  de- 
velopment of  those  faculties  of  mind  upon  which  progress  in  science 
and  in  all  human  enterprises  depends,  and  reaching  beyond  the  be- 
neficent influences  which  these  exert  upon  the  condition  of  man- 
kind, to  the  formation  of  character,  and  the  determination  through 
this  of  those  remoter  social  relations  which  have  most  to  do  with 
human  happiness  and  destiny — Education  becomes  invested  with  an 
importance  transcending  any  other,  and  possesses  an  intrinsic  inte- 
rest of  which  no  amount  of  pedantic  twaddle,  impracticable  theoriz- 
ing, chronic  stupidity,  or  inveterate  fogyism  can  wholly  divest  it. 
That  it  has  a vitality  able  to  survive  all  indifference,  and  neglect, 
and  unskillful  treatment,  to  which  through  centuries  of  time  it  may 
be  exposed,  is  evinced,  by  our  presence  here  to  day.  It  has  the  ele- 
ments not  only  of  ceaseless  vitality,  but  of  perpetual  newness.  Edu- 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


3 


cation  is  not  to-day  what  it  was  yesterday — nor  will  it  be  to-morrow 
what  it  is  to-day.  It  comprises  the  same  elements,  but  in  different 
combination,  and  differently  applied  to  the  production  of  results; 
that  is,  applied  to  a different  community  under  altered  circumstances 
and  with  a view  to  the  development  of  conditions  unlike  those  exist- 
ing at  the  present  time.  Education  and  human  progress  act  and  react 
upon  each  other.  Education  promotes  progress,  and  progress  demands 
for  its  proper  regulation  and  control  more  correct  and  enlightened 
processes  of  education.  The  laws  of  force  and  motion  are  the  same 
to-day  that  they  were  when  the  pyramids  were  built;  but  the  deve- 
lopment and  application  of  these,  constituting  a system  of  mechanical 
science,  have  greatly  changed.  As  mechanical  science  will  not  be- 
come perfected  until  the  problem  of  the  simplest  and  cheapest  deve- 
lopment and  application  of  force,  is  fully  solved,  so  Education  will 
present  new  phases  and  aspects,  until  mankind  shall  have  attained 
that  perfect  state  which  good  men  pray  for — I fear  with  more  fer- 
vency than  faith. 

In  this  view,  Education  is  not  an  old  theme  even,  still  less  is  it 
worn  quite  thread-bare.  It  has  depths  yet  unfathomed,  hights  to 
which  none  have  soared,  an  expansiveness  which  no  man  hath  com- 
passed. Its  parallel  in  duration  of  interest  and  susceptibility  of  de- 
velopment is  God's  great  humanity. 

But  Education  has  many  phases  or  aspects,  many  points  of  view, 
from  which  it  may  be  contemplated — and  that  which  I have  selected 
for  remark  is  Popular  Education,  taking  the  educational  system  of 
New  York  as  the  specific  topic  with  which  to  illustrate  and  exemplify 
my  theme. 

In  treating  of  the  system  of  public  instruction  of  the  state  of  New 
York,  the  three  leading  branches  of  the  system,  under  the  name  and 
style  of  colleges,  academies  and  common  or  public  schools,  must  be 
kept  in  view.  These  are  to  be  considered  under  two  aspects:  1st, 
Plan  of  Organization;  2d,  Plan  of  Operation:  the  former  relating  to 
the  corporate  character  and  powers  of  these  institutions — the  source 
from  which  and  the  terms  upon  which  their  charters  are  derived — 
and  the  latter,  relating  to  the  specific  educational  work  which  each 
proposes  to  itself,  and  the  means  or  methods  employed  for  its  accom- 
plishment. Let  us  consider  each  branch  in  its  order,  under  these 
leading  aspects  or  features. 

I.  PLAN  OF  ORGANIZATION. 

1.  Colleges. — Among  the  earliest  acts  of  the  legislature  of  this 
state  under  its  republican  constitution,  was  one  in  the  year  1*7 81, 
founding  a university  and  committing  its  guardianship  and  control 
to  a board  of  officers,  styled  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  The  act  named  those  who  should  compose  the 
board  at  that  time,  and  provided  for  filling  vacancies  by  the  legis- 
lature. To  this  day  this  corporation  exists,  in  all  repects  essentially 
the  same  as  when  organized.  The  board  has  a material  and  tangible 
existence,  but  the  university  of  which  it  was  to  have  the  direction  and 
control,  is  yet  destitute  of  a corner  stone.  The  same  act  renewed 
and  enlarged  the  powers  of  Columbia  College,  which  fyad  been  char- 
tered under  the  colonial  government — and  was  at  the  time  the  only 


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EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


institution  of  the  kind  in  the  state.  It  also  provided  for  the  incorpo- 
ration of  other  institutions  with  like  powers  under  the  direction  and 
approval  of  the  Board  of  Regents.  In  the  exercise  of  the  authority 
thus  conferred  upon  them,  the  regents  have  from  time  to  time  incor- 
porated four  colleges — and  under  special  authority  and  direction  of 
the  legislature,  have  incorporated  two  colleges  of  medicine  exclu- 
sively, one  of  which  is  now  extinct.  The  earliest  exercise  of  their 
general  powers  of  incorporating  colleges  was  in  1195,  and  the  latest 
in  1851,  being  a period  of  sixty-four  years  from  the  time  that  the 
authority  was  conferred,  during  which  it  has  been  exercised  as 
stated,  but  four  times.  Down  to  1831,  the  legislature  did  not  once 
assume,  itself  to  exercise  the  authority  which  it  had  so  wisely  de- 
legated as  a special  trust  to  a most  fit  and  worthy  corporate  body. 
Since  that  time,  however,  that  is,  within  the  last  twenty-seven  years, 
twenty-two  colleges  have  been  incorporated  by  acts  of  the  legislature! 
while  since  1825,  a period  of  thirty-eight  years,  the  Regents  have 
granted  but  a single  collegiate  charter.  These  facts  carry  their  own 
conclusion.  Of  the  causes  which  led  the  legislature  to  depart  from 
the  policy  of  non-intervention,  I have  no  knowledge,  but  its  action 
once  successfully  invoked,  it  requires  no  deeply  penetrating  power  to 
discern  why  its  threshold,  rather  than  that  of  the  regency,  should  be 
thronged  with  importunate  petitioners.  The  Regents,  by  an  ordi- 
nance controling  their  own  action,  had  made  it  a condition  precedent 
to  the  incorporation  of  any  college,  that  an  endowment  should  be 
assured  sufficiently  large  to  gurantee  its  permanent  establishment 
and  effective  operation,  and  all  the  colleges  incorporated  by  them 
were  compelled  to  comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance.  On 
the  contrary,  of  the  twenty-two  colleges  incorporated  by  the  legis- 
lature, but  a single  one  was  required  by  the  terms  of  its  charter,  to 
have  any  endowment  secured.  The  entire  absence  of  conditions  in 
granting  charters  by  the  legislature  rendered  this  body  the  favorite 
resort  of  visionary  enthusiasts,  who  deemed  the  essential  elements  of 
a first  class  university,  to  be  simply  a name  and  an  act  of  incorpora- 
tion. The  effect  of  this  policy  of  indiscriminate  college  hatching  is 
easily  predicted.  But  I will  indulge  in  no  speculation — “ I appeal 
to  history.”  Of  the  twenty-two  colleges  incorporated  by  the  legis- 
lature within  the  past  twenty-seven  years,  seven  have  no  local  habita- 
tion, and  their  name  can  only  be  found  after  diligent  search  through 
the  volumes  of  the  session  laws.  They  are  extinct.  Of  the  fifteen 
remaining,  three  are  exclusively  medical,  leaving  twelve  literary 
institutions  of  which  only  six  render  through  the  Regents  any  report 
of  their  operations.  Thus  six  more,  making  thirteen  in  all,  are 
practically  extinct.  Of  the  six  who  report  their  condition  and 
prospects  to  the  Regents,  I gather  the  following-  facts.  During  the 
year  1851  two  only  had  over  100  students  each.  The  remaining 
four  report  an  attendance  of  111  all  told  during  the  year,  being  an 
average  of  42|  each.  The  whole  number  of  graduates  during  the 
last  year  from  these  six  pets  of  legislation  was  60 — an  average  of 
10.  These  results  will  appear  more  clearly  in  contrast  with  those 
of  other  institutions.  The  four  colleges  incorporated  by  the  Regents 
report  an  average  attendance  during  the  year  1851,  of  168J — the 
highest  number  being  281  and  the  lowest  95.  The  whole  number  of 


1$58.J 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


5 


graduates  was  149,  being  an  average  of  37 ; and  tile  highest  number 
76.  This  comparison  is  eminently  suggestive.  It  renders  apparent 
the  correctness  of  that  policy  of  the  Regents  which  demands  an  en- 
dowment as  a condition  of  granting  a charter.  It  exhibits  most 
clearly  the  waste  and  uselessness  of  a multiplicity  of  collegiate  in- 
stitutions. If  one  college  is  found  adequate  to  instruct  287  students 
and  to  send  forth  76  graduates  in  a single  year — why  should  six 
colleges  be  established  at  no  little  cost  of  labor  and  of  money  (even 
though  most  inadequately  furnished) — to  instruct  171  students  and  to 
send  forth  60  graduates?  It  shows  how  much  more  safely,  prudently 
and  wisely  educational  affairs  are  conducted  when  committed  solely  to 
the  control  of  a special  board  of  administration,  with  no  legislative 
interference  except  to  organize  and  define  the  powers  and  duties  of 
such  board. 

Other  inferential  suggestions  are  as  obvious  to  the  understanding 
as  the  above  are  to  the  reason.  The  incorporation  of  institutions  of 
learning  without  regard  to  the  facilities  they  have  for  fulfilling  the 
design  of  their  establishment  must  often  be  attended  by  injury  to 
the  cause  of  education,  through  the  inefficiency  of  their  practical 
operation.  They  hold  themselves  out  to  the  world — under  the  sanc- 
tions of  the  great  seal  of  the  state,  as  institutions  deserving  patron- 
age and  support.  Being  accessible  to  a limited  locality  or  com- 
mitted to  the  fostering  care  of  some  favorite  ecclesiasticism,  their 
pretentious  tone  attracts  the  ear  of  a few  literary  aspirants,  who 
might  otherwise  seek  elsewhere  that  higher  culture  of  which  they 
are  in  pursuit.  Just  in  proportion  to  their  weakness  is  their  impor- 
tunity for  aid  from  the  state.  But  where  there  is  no  solid  pecuniary 
foundation,  the  largest  contribution  which  the  state  can  give  will  be 
swallowed  up  without  producing  the  slightest  appreciable  benefit  in 
permanent  results.  Many  generous  enthusiasts  are  induced  to  con- 
tribute of  their  means  to  inflate  one  of  these  literary  balloons,  and 
they  only  find,  too  soon,  that  their  investment  and  the  college  have 
“gone  up”  together.  It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  with  ap- 
proximate accuracy  the  amount  of  public  and  private  means  that  has 
been  thus  diverted  from  legitimate  and  worthy  educational  enter- 
prises, and  squandered  on  defunct  institutions,  and  others  whose  only 
remaining  chance  of  being  a benefit  to  community  is  to  fulfill  the 
promise  they  hold  out,  of  speedy  dissolution.  The  limited  investiga- 
tion I have  been  able  to  make,  satisfies  me  that  not  less  than  half  a 
million  is  thus  permanently  invested  in  the  clouds,  not  to  descend 
again  upon  the  generous  but  most  unjust  donors,  nor  yet  indeed  at 
all  in  the  form  of  practical  educational  results.  One  other  thought 
concerning  the  evil  tendency  of  this  diffusion  of  collegiate  facilities. 
From  the  causes  suggested,  no  one  of  our  institutions,  however 
worthy  some  of  them  may  be,  is  able  is  take  that  elevated  position 
in  the  popular  mind  which  is  maintained  by  one  or  two  institutions 
in  other  states.  The  result  is,  very  many  of  our  young  men  are 
drawn  away  from  the  diffused  advantages  here  held  out,  to  those 
more  concentrated  and  efficient  which  they  find  elsewhere. 

We  have  thus  seen  that  our  collegiate  system  is  not  uniform  in 
its  organization — some  of  its  institutions  deriving  their  charter  from 
the  legislature,  and  others  from  the  Board  of  Regents.  All  of  those 


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EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


which  I have  chosen  to  regard  as  having  an  existence,  however,  are 
subject  to  the  visitation  of  the  Regents,  and  are  required  to  report 
to  them  annually  in  such  form  as  the  board  shall  prescribe,  concern- 
ing their  operations.  The  general  management  of  these  institutions 
is  committed  to  a board  of  trustees,  who  appoint  the  president  and 
his  subordinates,  prescribe  the  course  of  study,  and  direct  generally 
concerning  its  financial  as  well  as  educational  interests.  In  their 
main  features,  the  charters  granted  by  the  Regents  and  by  the  legis- 
lature, are  similar. 

The  pecuniary  support  of  colleges  is  derived  from  voluntary  con- 
tribution in  subscriptions,  donations,  or  bequests — from  tuition  fees, 
and  from  occasional  legislative  aid.  The  latter  is  wholly  capricious, 
depending  upon  the  facileness  of  the  committee  to  whom  the  appli- 
cation for  aid  may  be  referred.  Such  is  our  collegiate  system  in  its 
Plan  of  Organization.  I pass  to  consider  the  next  branch  of  our 
educational  system. 

2.  Academies. — By  the  act  under  which  they  were  created,  the 
Regents  were  also  authorized  to  incorporate  academies  under  such 
provisions  as  they  should  deem  wise  and  expedient;  and  the  visita- 
tion of  these,  and  investigation  into  their  affairs,  as  well  as  of 
colleges,  was  committed  to  them.  Under  the  authority  derived  from 
this  act,  and  various  others  subsequently  passed,  the  Regents  have 
at  various  times,  down  to  1854,  a period  of  sixty-seven  years,  in- 
corporated 131  academies,  of  which  45  are  extinct,  while  92  con- 
tinue subject  to  their  visitation,  and  report  their  condition  annual- 
ly^ The  legislature  here,  as  in  the  case  of  colleges,  for  a time 
prudently  abstained  from  exercising  the  prerogatives  with  which 
they  had  invested  the  Regents,  but  not  for  so  long,  the  first  de- 
parture from  the  principle  of  non-intervention  being  in  1811,  or 
thirty  years  after  the  power  had  been  conferred  upon  and  exercised 
by  the  board.  From  this  time  down  to  1854,  a period  of  thirty- 
seven  years,  the  legislature  incorporated  116  academies;  of  these 
105  are  extinct,  and  11  only  are  subject  to  the  visitation  of  the 
Regents.  Sixty-nine  never  complied  with  the  requirements  pre- 
scribed by  the  Regents  as  a condition  of  their  visitation,  guardian- 
ship and  favor.  It  has  ever  been  the  policy  of  the  Regents  not  to 
incorporate  an  academy  until  it  had  secured  a reliable  pecuniary 
basis,  upon  which  its  permanence  and  efficiency  might  reasonably  be 
predicated.  The  conditions  of  incorporation  have  been  modified  from 
time  to  time  in  detail,  but  not  in  principle,  and  the  precedent  require- 
ment now  is,  that  the  academy  shall  possess  property  in  the  lot, 
building,  library,  and  apparatus,  to  the  value  of  $2500.  I have  no 
evidence  that  the  legislature  has  ever  exacted  any  conditions  in 
granting  a single  charter.  The  consequence  is  apparent  in  the  large 
proportion  of  those,  which  have  no  longer  any  being. 

The  plan  of  organization  of  academies,  whether  incorporated  by 
the  Regents  or  by  the  legislature,  is,  in  its  main  features,  similar  to 
that  of  colleges.  The  authority  is  vested  in  a board  of  trustees, 
with  general  corporate  powers,  who  appoint  the  principal  and  sub- 
ordinates, direct  and  prescribe  the  course  of  discipline  and  study, 
and  make  such  laws  and  regulations  as  they  deem  necessary  and 
proper  for  carrying  into  effect  the  powers  conferred  upon  them.  It 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


7 


will  further  be  seen,  that  those  academies  not  incorporated  by  the 
Regents  may  subject  themselves  to  their  visitation,  and  become 
entitled  to  the  advantages  which  that  condition  confers;  so  that 
between  these  and  others  there  is  no  apparent  difference  of  organic 
structure.  Previous  to  1838  the  Regents  had  prescribed  to  acade- 
mies incorporated  by  the  legislature,  the  same  conditions  for  admis- 
sion to  their  list  of  visitation  and  its  privileges,  that  they  required 
for  incorporation  by  their  own  body.  This  put  them  upon  an  equal 
footing,  and  made  them  to  all  intents  and  purposes  the  same  class  of 
organizations,  though  deriving  their  original  powers  from  different 
sources.  But  the  meddling  spirit  of  the  legislature  could  not  be 
content  with  incorporating  academies  and  letting  them  take  their 
chance  of  finding  favor  with  the  Regents,  but  must  go  further  and 
fix  the  conditions  upon  which  they  might  be  admitted  to  the  super- 
vision of  the  board.  This  was  done  by  an  act  in  1838,  and  the 
Regents  were  compelled,  in  order  to  preserve  a just  equality  between 
the  academies,  to  fix  the  same  conditions  as  a standard  for  incorpo- 
ration. We  have  already  noticed  that  the  discretion  of  the  Regents 
in  the  exercise  of  the  power  of  incorporation  has  been  wiser  than 
that  of  the  legislature,  as  evinced  by  the  greater  proportion  of  the 
latter  that  failed  to  support  themselves.  This  fact  is  still  further 
apparent  from  a comparison  of  the  workings  of  those  still  in  success- 
ful operation;  the  academies  chartered  by  the  Regents  reporting  an 
average  attendance  of  206  during  the  last  year,  and  those  by  the 
legislature  an  average  of  191 — no  great  difference,  to  be  sure,  but 
pointing  in  the  same  direction  as  stronger  facts. 

As  we  proceed  to  examine  the  academic  organization  with  refer- 
ence to  their  distribution  uniformly  throughout  the  state,  we  shall 
find  that  neither  the  Regents  nor  the  legislature  have  regarded  a 
rational  principle — or  indeed  any  principle  of  apportionment. 

There  are  four  things  that  should  be  considered  in  determining 
the  number  of  academies  to  which  a given  district  or  section  of  the 
state  is  entitled.  These  are  population,  wealth,  area,  and  access- 
ibility. Of  course,  the  greater  the  population,  other  things  being 
equal,  the  more  schools  will  be  required.  The  more  wealth  there 
is,  the  greater  the  number  it  will  support.  The  wider  the  area, 
the  more  may  reasonably  be  tolerated — provided,  fourth,  the  con- 
veniences for  traveling  do  not  render  this  a condition  of  little  im- 
portance. Now  to  illustrate  how  every  one  of  these  conditions  has 
been  ignored,  I will  compare  two  counties  lying  far  apart.  In  the 
one  there  have  been  organized  22  academies.  It  has  a popula- 
tion of  107,749,  which  gives  one  academy  to  each  4,891;  the  other 
has  one  academy  to  19,669  inhabitants.  If  we  compare  the 
wealth  of  the  two  counties,  we  shall  find  that  the  first  has  had  one 
academy  for  each  $811,193  of  property,  while  the  last  has  had  but 
one  for  $2,751,172,  or  more  than  three  times  the  basis  of  the  former. 
Comparing  area  and  we  find  the  one  has  an  academy  for  each  51 
square  miles,  the  other  only  one  for  911  square  miles — and  the 
convenience  of  getting  about,  facility  of  access,  is  so  wholly  in  favor 
of  the  former,  that  it  could  make  no  appreciable  difference  with 
its  convenience  in  that  respect,  if  there  were  but  one  academy  in 
the  county  instead  of  22.  In  such  differences  as  these,  there  is 


8 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OP  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


neither  justice  nor  reason.  If  I am  told  that  the  latter  county  would 
have  been  more  highly  favored  had  her  citizens  taken  the  initiative; 
that  it  is  no  part  of  the  business  of  the  state,  through  any  of  its  de- 
partments, to  anticipate  the  wants  of  the  people  upon  education,  I 
dissent;  but  even  if  that  were  granted,  there  is  still  left  no  excuse 
for  the  needless  multiplicity  of  academies  in  the  former  county,  where- 
by the  funds  of  the  state  are  divided  among  so  many  separate  insti- 
tutions, instead  of  being  concentrated  more  efficiently  on  a few  or 
upon  one.  Though  I have  made  my  comparison  between  counties,  I 
would  not  be  understood  to  suggest  this  division  as  the  proper  basis 
of  academic  districts.  In  some  localities,  one  academy  for  two  or 
three  counties  would  be  found  most  convenient,  while  in  others  a 
single  academy  in  a county  might  be  found  insufficient.  What  I do 
claim  is,  that  as  these  are  'public  institutions , incorporated,  hence  sanc- 
tioned and  approved  by  the  state,  designed  as  a public  benefit,  and 
not  as  an  encouragement  to  private  enterprise  or  to  promote  local 
convenience,  and  supported  in  part  from  the  funds  of  the  state — the 
constituted  authorities  should  have  reference  in  their  organization  to 
public  interests,  and  not  permit  them  to  be  multiplied  indefinitely, 
thereby  dividing  up  the  fund  appropriated  by  the  state  until  its  bene- 
fits are  scarcely  appreciable.  I make  no  war  upon  merely  private 
institutions — these  have  a just  right  to  establish  themselves  when- 
ever they  can  maintain  a foothold;  but  when  these  come  forward  and 
demand  a patent  from  the  state  in  the  form  of  an  act  of  incorporation, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  state  to  demand  in  return  evidence  that  the  inte- 
rests of  popular  education  will  be  promoted  by  such  an  endorsement. 
It  is  a mistaken  idea  that  the  multiplication  of  schools  contributes 
to  the  advancement  of  education.  Into  this  delusion  have  the  legis- 
lature and  the  Board  of  Regents  alike  fallen  in  some  degree,  the  former 
wholly,  and  the  latter  partially  blinded  to  the  true  principle  which 
should  control  their  action.  We  have  now  in  the  state  183  report- 
ing academies,  with  a total  attendance  some  time  during  the  year, 
of  31,683  students,  being  an  average  of  205  students  to  each.  The 
highest  number  attending  any  one  academy,  is  110;  the  lowest,  35. 
Now  if  110  students  can  be  collected  in  one  institution,  we  really 
need  no  more  academies  to  accommodate  the  present  demand  for 
higher  culture  than  that  average  would  furnish,  and  that  is  48.  For 
I have  no  idea  that  if  the  present  number  of  academies  was  doubled, 
that  the  attendance  would  be  increased  five  per  cent,  while  the  edu- 
cational efficiency  of  these  institutions  would  be  diminished  15  per 
cent.  On  the  other  hand,  if  they  were  reduced  to  the  number  I have 
named,  and  distributed  with  a due  regard  to  the  considerations  I 
have  suggested  as  proper  to  control  that  matter,  I believe  that  they 
would  not  lose  five  per  cent  of  their  legitimate  attendants,  and  their 
efficiency  would  be  increased  four-fold.  But  admitting  a change  in 
the  organization,  so  sweeping  and  radical  as  this  to  be  impracticable, 
still,  is  there  not  some  plan  that  may  be  devised  that  shall  at  least 
approximate  a just  and  natural  ratio  in  the  number  of  these  institu- 
tions, and  the  method  of  their  distribution  ? This  query  will  receive 
further  attention  hereafter,  being  in  some  measure  connected  with 
that  other  branch  of  our  subject,  the  plan  of  operation  of  the  differ- 
ent branches  of  our  system. 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


9 


I pass  now  to  notice  the  source  from  which  academies  derive  their 
support.  The  establishment  of  an  academy,  so  far  as  relates  to  the 
procuring  of  the  lot,  building,  libra^  and  apparatus,  is  effected  by 
subscription  or  donation.  Application  is  then  made  to  the  legis- 
lature or  to  the  Board  of  Regents  for  a charter.  If  a charter  is  ob- 
tained from  the  legislature,  it  is  still  not  entitled  to  any  distribution 
from  the  literature  fund  until  it  has  become  subject  to  the  visitation 
of  the  Board  of  Regents  by  complying  with  the  conditions  which  they 
prescribe.  If  a charter  is  obtained  from  the  Regents,  that  of  itself 
subjects  it  to  their  visitation,  and  it  becomes  entitled  to  a share  in 
the  distribution  as  soon  as  the  other  conditions  relative  to  its  report, 
etc.,  are  fulfilled.  The  academic  share  of  the  literature  fund  is  a 
sum  of  $40,000  annually  distributed  among  the  academies  of  the 
state,  subject  to  Regency  visitation,  in  the  ratio  of  the  number  of 
students  taught  by  them  during  the  previous  year,  for  a period  of  not 
less  than  four  months,  in  the  higher  English  or  classical  branches  of 
study.  The  Regents  prescribe  what  shall  be  regarded  as  higher 
English  branches  or  classical  studies,  and  the  age  or  proficiency  of 
the  pupil  before  he  shall  be  permitted  to  be  enumerated  as  pursuing 
them.  This,  it  will  be  seen,  is  a rational  basis  of  distribution,  being 
founded  on  practical  results,  and  not  like  appropriations  to  colleges, 
determined  by  the  persuasive  power  of  trustees,  and  the  gullibility 
of  legislative  committees.  The  largest  sum  received  by  any  academy 
the  present  year  is  $1,014*49,  and  the  smallest  $18*30 — the  ratio  is 
$1*83  for  each  pupil  pursuing  the  branches  as  above  stated.  The 
sum  thus  apportioned  is  expended  wholly  for  teachers’  wages. 
Besides  this  regular  distribution  from  the  literature  fund,  the  legis- 
lature has  provided  that  from  the  revenues  of  this  fund  the  Regents 
may  distribute  to  the  various  academies  of  the  state,  a sum  not  ex- 
ceeding $250  to  each,  to  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  books,  maps, 
or  apparatus.  The  condition  of  this  distribution  is,  that  the  academy 
to  which  it  is  awarded  shall  raise  an  equal  amount  for  the  same 
purpose — the  sum  so  raised  to  be  exclusive  of  that  required  as  a 
condition  of  incorporation.  Under  this  provision  there  has  been  dis- 
tributed since  the  passage  of  the  act  in  1834,  $61,353*49,  and  a like 
amount  has  been  raised  by  the  academies  themselves. 

Another  source  of  revenue  to  the  academies  has  been  derived  from 
appropriations  made  by  the  legislature  and  distributed  by  the  Re- 
gents for  the  gratuitous  instruction  of  common  school  teachers.  The 
amount  so  distributed  for  the  year  1851,  was  $12,810,  which  was 
divided  among  115  academies.  I have  not  time  to  treat  of  this  ele- 
ment of  distribution  further  than  to  characterize  it  as  wholly  thrown 
away;  but  justice  demands  that  I should  further  state  that  it  is  an 
appropriation  exclusively  legislative,  and  made  against  the  advice 
and  even  protest  of  the  Regents. 

The  residue  of  the  support  of  academies  is  derived  from  tuition 
fees.  The  total  resources  of  academies  may  therefore  be  presented 
in  the  following  summary: 

1st.  Voluntary  subscription  or  donation  whereby  the  academy  is 
founded  and  becomes  eligible  to  incorporation,  and  subject  to  the 
visitation  and  guardianship  of  the  Regents;  and  in  some  cases 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OP  NEW  YORK. 


10 


[Oct. 


further  donations  or  endowments  from  which  a limited  income  is  de- 
rived. 

2d.  A participation  in  the  funds  appropriated  by  the  state  for  the 
support  of  academies,  comprising  $40,000,  annually  distributed 
among  all  the  reporting  academies,  on  the  basis  of  the  number  of 
students  instructed  in  the  higher  departments  of  study — a sum  not 
exceeding  $250  once  appropriated  to  such  academies  as  raise  a like 
amount  for  the  purchase  of  books  and  apparatus;  and  $12,500  annu- 
ally distributed  among  such  academies,  not  less  than  90,  as  the  Re- 
gents may  select,  in  which  common  school  teachers  are  gratuitously 
instructed. 

3d.  Tuition  fees — these  constituting  about  five-ninths  of  their 
whole  revenue. 

There  is,  however,  another  source  of  revenue  accruing  to  those 
academies,  organized  under  the  Free  School  Law,  in  connection  with 
and  as  a higher  department  of  a Union  Free  School.  These  and  the 
New  York  Free  Academy,  in  place  of  tuition  fees,  derive  their  sup- 
port from  taxation.  They  share  in  the  distribution  of  the  literature 
fund,  however,  like  other  academies.  Such  are  some  of  the  more 
prominent  features  pertaining  to  the  plan  of  organization  of  the 
academic  branch  of  our  system  of  education. 

3.  Common  or  Public  Schools. — We  shall  find  that  this  branch  of 
our  system  is  less  uniform  in  its  organization  than  either  of  the 
others.  We  have  first  the  general  provisions  of  statute  under  which 
school  districts  are  organized  throughout  the  state — each  district 
being  a quasi  corporation,  empowered  to  levy  taxes  to  build  and 
repair  school-houses,  and  to  defray  the  incidental  expenses  of  sus- 
taining a school.  The  custody  of  the  property  and  the  general 
management  of  its  affairs  are  committed  to  a board  of  trustees,  or 
under  a recent  act  to  a single  trustee.  These  employ  the  teachers, 
superintend  the  building  and  repairs  of  school-houses,  make  out  tax- 
lists  and  rate-bills,  and  enforce  the  collection  of  the  same  under  their 
warrant,  call  special  meetings  at  their  discretion,  draw  orders  for 
the  public  money,  and  expend  the  library  money  of  the  district.  These 
districts  are  subject  to  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction,  as  prescribed  under  the  statutes,  and  to  the 
supervision  and  visitation  of  School  Commissioners  elected  in  and  for 
each  assembly  district,  exclusive  of  cities.  The  teachers  in  these 
schools  are  required  to  hold  a certificate  of  qualification  from  the 
commissioner  or  some  higher  authority,  and  the  neglect  of  this 
requirement  renders  the  district  liable  to  forfeit  its  share  of  the 
public  money  appropriated  to  the  support  of  schools.  Districts  are 
further  required  as  a condition  of  receiving  their  quotas  of  the 
public  money,  to  have  school  taught  during  a period  of  not  less  than 
six  months  each  year.  These  district  organizations  are  always 
defined  by  territorial  limits,  in  which  respect  they  differ  from 
academies.  The  formation  and  alteration  of  districts  is  devolved 
upon  the  commissioner,  with  whom  may  be  associated  the  town  clerk 
and  supervisor  of  the  town  or  towns  which  the  proceeding  is  to 
affect.  Their  action  is  conclusive,  subject  only  to  appeal  to  the 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  The  policy  of  the  Department 
and  in  general  of  local  officers,  is  to  make  as  few  districts  as  may  be 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


11 


compatible  with  the  convenience  or  necessities  of  any  locality.  Con- 
solidation, wherever  the  territory  is  so  limited  as  to  admit  of  it,  is 
always  advocated.  The  number  of  districts  should  never  be  in  the 
ratio  of  the  population,  but  always  be  determined  by  the  area — modi- 
fied to  some  extent  by  the  face  of  the  country,  and  other  conditions. 
This  principle  is  measurably  regarded,  though  not  to  the  fullest  ex- 
tent. 

The  support  of  these  schools  is  derived — 1st,  from  taxation,  by 
which  money  may  be  raised  under  the  authority  of  a vote  of  the 
district  for  all  the  lawful  expenses  of  the  schools,  except  the  pay- 
ment of  teachers’ wages;  2d,  from  the  common  school  fund  of  the 
state.  From  what  special  departments  of  the  general  funds  of  the 
state  the  school  moneys  are  derived,  it  is  unnecessary  for  the  pur- 
poses of  this  investigation  to  explain.  Suffice  it,  that  from  the  reve- 
nues of  the  state,  independent  of  those  derived  from  general  taxation, 
about  $250,000,  which  sum  is  annually  increasing,  is  appropriated 
for  the  support  of  schools,  added  to  which  for  the  same  purpose,  are 
the  proceeds  of  a general  tax  upon  the  property  of  the  state  of  three- 
fourths  of  a mill  upon  each  dollar  of  valuation,  which  for  the  last 
year  yielded  $1,073,T68*97,  making  an  aggregate  of  $1,323,768. 
Two-thirds  of  this  amount  is  apportioned  to  each  county  in  the  ratio 
of  its  population,  and  the  amount  so  apportioned  to  each  county  is 
by  the  commissioners  apportioned  among  the  several  districts  in  the 
ratio  of  the  number  of  children  residing  in  them  between  the  ages  of 
4 and  21.  The  remaining  one-third  is  divided  equally  among  all  the 
districts  of  the  state,  the  districts  for  this  purpose  being  computed, 
not  territorially,  but  by  the  number  of  teachers  employed — any  dis- 
trict employing  two  teachers  or  more  at  the  same  time  for  a period 
of  six  months,  being  entitled  to  a corresponding  number  of  quotas 
from  this  part  of  the  fund.  It  will  be  noticed  that  this  distribution, 
unlike  that  to  academies,  is,  for  the  most  part,  based  upon  the  con- 
tingency of  population,  which  may  be  a most  unfair  indication  of  the 
wants  or  just  claims  of  a district.  The  proper  basis  would  be — 
actual  results  as  indicated  by  the  aggregate  attendance. 

This  sum  of  $1,323,768,  is  to  be  applied  exclusively  to  the  pay- 
ment of  teachers’  wages,  to  that  use  of  it  the  districts  are  inviolately 
held.  Besides  this,  the  sum  of  $55,000  is  annually  appropriated  for 
the  purchase  of  library  books,  which  sum  is  apportioned  among  the 
districts  in  the  same  manner  as  the  two-thirds  applicable  to  the  pay- 
ment of  teachers’  wages.  I am  free  to  say  that  as  at  present  applied 
I regard  this  sum  most  injudiciously  expended.  Half  or  a fourth  of  the 
amount,  expended  upon  a library  in  each  town,  conditioned  upon  an 
equal  sum  being  raised  by  the  inhabitants,  would  in  my  mind  be  pro- 
ductive of  far  worthier  results. 

Another  source  of  support,  enjoyed  by  some  districts,  arises  from 
local  town  funds  derived  from  the  sale  of  certain  lands  donated  by 
the  state  in  1789,  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  and  the  use  of  schools, 
and  called  gospel  and  school  lands.  These  however  do  not  constitute 
any  considerable  feature  of  the  school  revenues.  The  last  source  of 
revenue  is  the  tuition  of  the  pupils  in  actual  attendance  at  school. 
This  is  applied  exclusively  to  teachers’  wages,  and  in  amount  is  the 
excess  of  the  wages  which  the  district  agrees  to  pay  over  the  public 


12 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


money  apportioned  to  the  district  for  that  purpose — and  is  assessed 
upon  those  who  send  in  the  ratio  of  their  attendance.  Of  all  the 
moneys  received  from  all  sources  for  the  support  of  schools,  exclusive 
of  cities  which  are  to  be  separately  considered — about  one  third  are 
raised  by  rate-bill. 

The  next  division  of  this  branch  of  the  system  comprises  the  Union 
Free  Schools,  organized  under  the  provisions  of  the  Free  School  Law, 
having  boards  of  education  instead  of  trustees,  and  special  powers 
in  the  matter  of  levying  taxes  of  greater  amount  and  for  other  pur- 
poses than  those  granted  under  the  general  statutes,  thus  permitting 
them  to  make  their  schools  wholly  free.  They  are  not  required  to 
do  this  however,  so  that  we  have  in  the  state,  not  unfrequently,  the 
anomaly  of  Union  Free  Schools  that  are  not  free — and  that  differ 
from  other  schools  only  in  the  complexity  of  their  organization  and 
the  extent  of  the  powTers  which  they  may  exercise,  and  the  increased 
efficiency  which  consolidation  imparts.  These  boards  of  education 
are  also  authorized  to  grant  licenses  to  the  teachers  whom  they  em- 
ploy thus  making  them  independent  of  the  commissioners.  Their 
organization  is  regarded  as  beyond  the  control  of  any  authority  less 
than  the  legislature ; hence  their  boundaries  are  not  subject  to  altera- 
tion by  the  local  authorities.  Substituting  taxes  for  rate-bills,  they 
derive  their  support  from  the  same  sources  and  in  the  same  manner 
as  other  schools. 

We  next  have  special  acts  of  organization  for  each  of  the  cities  of 
the  state.  These  generally  transfer  to  appointed  authorities  in  the 
cities  the  entire  charge  and  control  of  all  the  schools  within  their  cor- 
porate limits,  subject  to  the  direction  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  only  in  the  matter  of  making  their  reports,  all  the  details 
of  organization,  support  and  supervision  being  directed  by  the  board, 
to  whom  the  general  interests  of  the  schools  are  committed.  These 
schools  are  free,  their  support  being  derived  from  local  taxation  and 
the  general  appropriations  from  the  school  fund. 

Another  class  of  schools  embraces  those  organized  in  villages  quite 
frequently,  under  a special  act  from  the  legislature,  the  provisions  of 
which  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Union  Free  School  Law,  but  with 
such  modifications,  either  extending  or  limiting  or  otherwise  varying 
the  powers  conferred,  or  their  form  and  mode  of  application,  as  the 
inhabitants  of  the  locality  deem  best  adapted  to  promote  the  objects 
they  have  in  view.  These  too  are  generally  made  free,  and  committed 
to  boards  of  education,  with  powers  similar  to  those  of  union  schools. 
Nothing  short  of  legislative  authority  can  change  their  boundaries. 

Their  support  is  derived  from  the  same  sources  as  that  of  schools 
under  the  general  statutes,  except  when  made  free,  then  taxes  are 
substituted  for  rate-bills. 

Finally,-  a few  districts  organized  under  the  general  school  laws, 
have  obtained  from  the  legislature  the  power  to  defray  all  the  ex- 
penses of  the  school  by  tax,  thus  dispensing  with  rate-bills  and  making 
the  school  free.  They  differ  from  schools  organized  under  the  free 
school  act  or  under  special  acts,  in  that  they  create  no  new  officers, 
nor  are  the  general  powers  of  the  district  enlarged,  but  the  power  to 
levy  a rate-bill  is  changed  to  the  power  of  levying  a tax.  In  all  other 
respects  they  arc  like  schools  organized  under  the  general  laws. 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


13 


Such  is  a comprehensive  survey  of  the  school  system  of  this  state 
in  its  various  branches,  considered  with  reference  to  their  plan  of 
organization.  We  find  they  present  to  view  seven  distinct  classes, 
as  follows:  colleges,  academies,  schools  organized  under  the  gene- 
ral statutes,  schools  organized  under  the  Union  Free  School  Law, 
city  schools,  schools  organized  under  special  acts,  and  those  with 
simple  provisions  authorizing  them  to  support  their  schools  by  tax. 

Of  course,  schools  organized  under  the  general  law  comprise  the 
great  mass  of  all  the  schools  in  the  state,  numbering  11,280.  City 
schools  are  next  in  order  and  number  533,  while  all  reported  as  free 
under  the  other  three  classes  of  public  schools  are  only  44. 

The  prominent  defect  of  our  system  as  here  exhibited,  is  its  lack 
of  unity  in  organization.  We  find  the  correct  principle  preva- 
lent in  the  common  school  organization,  which  is  to  make  the 
schools  the  largest  possible,  compatible  with  accessibility.  To  pro- 
mote this,  the  power  is  removed  from  the  inhabitants  themselves,  who 
might  be  influenced  by  local  considerations,  and  conferred  upon  public 
officers  who  are  supposed  to  be  influenced  only  by  considerations 
affecting  the  general  welfare.  But  passing  to  the  organization  of  the 
academy  and  the  college,  we  find  no  conservative  element  in  them. 
An  application  can  hardly  be  presented,  so  barren  of  merit,  but  some 
facile  committee  may  be  found  to  report  it  favorably  to  the  legislature. 
Even  the  Regents,  whose  general  discretion  I am  disposed  to  com- 
mend, make  the  matter  of  $2,500  the  only  test  of  favor.  But  we 
know  that  a commodious  building  with  all  suitable  accessories  is  no 
guarantee  of  an  efficient  institution — that  being  determined  by  the 
wants  of  the  community  and  corresponding  provision  of  competent 
and  thorough  instructors.  Under  such  a dispensation  as  this,  rival 
academies  may  arise  within  a stone’s  throw  of  each  other,  and  de- 
mand the  division  between  them  of  the  fund  that  would  be  none  too 
munificient  if  bestowed  upon  one  alone.  The  same  question  of  area 
does  not  present  itself  in  the  founding  of  an  academy  that  does  in 
the  formation  of  a school  district — for  it  makes  but  little  difference 
when  one  must  leave  home  for  school  privileges,  whether  he  has  ten 
or  twenty  or  even  a hundred  miles  to  go — except  of  course  in  those 
secluded  localities  where  traveling  facilities  have  not  yet  reached. 
But  I need  not  enlarge  upon  this  topic  further,  having  already  devoted 
much  attention  to  it  in  a former  part  of  my  remarks.  Its  great  im- 
portance as  a feature  to  be  incorporated  into  our  educational  system 
must  be  my  apology  for  devoting  to  it  so  much  time. 


II.  PLAN  OF  OPERATION. 

It  will  be  my  purpose  in  the  remainder  of  my  remarks,  to  note  the 
distinction  between  the  Plan  of  Operation  and  the  practical  opera- 
tion of  the  system,  or  between  the  work  proposed  to  be  done  and  the 
means  provided,  and  the  methods  pursued  in  doing  it;  and  to  make 
such  suggestions  for  improvement  as  may  occur. 

The  Common  School,  whether  in  city  or  rural  district,  proposes 
for  its  object,  the  instruction  of  pupils  in  the  elements  of  an  English 
education.  I am  aware  that  some  of  these  aim  at  higher  accomplish- 
ments, but  I regard  these  as  exceptional.  But  how  much  is  com- 


14 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


prised  within  that  object ! What  order  of  study,  and  what  text 
books,  and  what  methods  of  instruction  will  best  promote  it?  In 
truth,  the  specific  amount  of  attainment  and  the  specific  agencies  to 
be  employed,  vary  not  only  with  each  class,  but  almost  in  every  school. 
Districts  are  required  to  keep  their  schools  moving , but  whether 
they  make  progress  backward  or  in  a circle,  is  left  to  their  own  dis- 
cretion; no  positive  standard  of  attainment  is  established  to  which 
they  must  conform,  no  defined  limit  which  they  must  reach,  but  a 
helter  skelter  scramble  among  the  one  million  children  in  the  schools, 
is  made  for  an  education  to  be  somehow  acquired  through  the  ruth- 
less rustling  over  of  a mass  of  printed  leaves.  I am  pleased  to  expect 
from  this  chaotic  condition  many  of  our  City  and  of  our  Union  Schools, 
which  prescribe  and  enforce  a course  of  study  in  the  primary  no  less 
than  in  the  higher  departments.  The  result  of  this  aimless  desultory 
course  is  obvious.  Few,  very  few,  ever  thoroughly  acquire  a know- 
ledge of  reading,  writing,  spelling,  geography,  grammar,  and  arith- 
metic, even  in  their  most  elementary  forms,  at  the  common  school — 
and  those  who  do,  are  indebted  to  individual  genius  or  energy,  or  to 
some  unusual  and  fortuitous  conditions  for  their  good  fortune.  I do 
not  deny  but  they  get  some  information  upon  these  subjects,  and  in- 
deed they  often  get  a smattering  of  much  beyond — of  botany,  astro- 
nomy, geology,  physiology,  zoology,  and  I know  not  how  many  other 
ologies — more  than  they  can  correctly  spell — but  information  is  a 
very  different  thing  from  knowledge. 

Our  academies  assume  to  instruct  students  in  the  higher  English 
branches  as  the  common  school  does  in  the  rudimentary.  But  with 
few  exceptions  these  prescribe  no  course  of  study,  no  standard  of 
ultimate  attainment,  no  measure  of  progress  but  time.  First  no  given 
standard  of  literary  attainment  is  made  a condition  of  admission  to 
their  privileges.  The  student  who  has  left  the  public  school  with  the 
shallowest  pretensions  to  elementary  culture,  is  admitted  side  by 
side  with  those  of  advanced  attainments,  and  enters  gravely  upon 
studies  that  presuppose  a thorough  primary  discipline.  But  here  he 
is  not  confined  to  any  course  of  study,  but  is  permitted  to  pursue 
such  desultory  course  as  suits  him  best.  Only  when  he  enters  upon 
classical  studies  is  the  student  restricted  to  a specific  order  of  pro- 
gress, which  is  measured  by  attainments  and  not  wholly  by  time. 

This  is  rendered  indispensable  by  the  requirements  of  colleges 
which  demand  a certain  attainment  as  a condition  of  entering,  and  a 
fixed  and  defined  course  of  discipline  and  positive  acquirement  as  a 
condition  of  leaving  with  its  honors.  Thus  only  at  the  top  of  the 
temple  do  we  find  the  qualities  of  firmness  and  security  which  we 
should  have  found  at  the  base.  Strange  policy  of  our  academies 
that  prescribes  a systematic  course  of  culture  for  those  who  leave  their 
walls  to  enter  college,  but  regards  any  system  of  instruction  as  wholly 
unessential  for  those  who  leave  to  go  forth  to  take  their  stations  for 
the  battle  of  life  ! But  it  is  gratifying  to  find  this  principle  of  uni- 
form and  progressive  culture  recognized  at  all  in  our  system  of 
instruction;  and  now  that  it  is  found  at  the  top,  let  us  conspire  to 
incorporate  the  same  into  the  foundation  of  the  system. 

Let  the  district  school  be  regarded  wholly  as  a primary  institution, 
with  a prescribed  course  of  study  and  grade  of  attainment.  The 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


15 


thorough  completion  of  this  course  should  he  rigidly  insisted  upon 
as  a condition  of  entering  any  public  school  or  department  of  a higher 
grade.  When  the  prescribed  course  is  thus  completed,  let  the  pupil 
receive  a diploma  which  then  represents  something  tangible  and 
real — not  in  age,  nor  the  number  of  days  attendance  at  school,  but 
in  positive  attainment. 

A school  for  instruction  in  the  higher  English  branches,  mathema- 
tics, and  the  elements  of  natural  science,  established  generally  in 
each  town — sometimes  more  sparsely  located — would  sustain  to  the 
locality  or  district  for  which  it  should  be  designated,  the  same  rela- 
tion that  the  English  department  of  academies  now  sustains  to  an 
indefinite  territory,  with  this  difference,  that  the  students  admitted 
to  the  town  school  would  come  with  a uniform  degree  of  attainment, 
and  would  enter  upon  the  prosecution  of  another  course  of  study  as 
rigidly  defined  as  the  last.  Excluding  from  its  course  the  classics 
or  modern  languages,  and  confining  its  efforts  exclusively  to  instruc- 
tion and  discipline  in  the  mathematics,  sciences,  principles  of  lan- 
guage, literature,  and  social  and  political  economy,  its  aim  in  the 
formation  of  practical  thinking  men,  intelligent  and  truly  accom- 
plished women,  independent  and  self-judging  citizens,  would  be  ef- 
fectively accomplished.  Not  a few  of  our  academies  would  find  it 
for  their  interest  to  confine  their  efforts  to  the  course  above  prescribed, 
and  the  remainder,  limited  in  number,  and  judiciously  distributed 
throughout  the  state  might  then  assume  that  higher  and  worthier 
position  for  which  they  are  designed,  and  so  far  trench  upon  the  do- 
main now  occupied  by  our  colleges,  that  these,  combining  their  faci- 
lities and  means  would  push  themselves  up  into  the  rank  and  dignity 
of  a university  that  should  honor  the  name  and  the  state. 

The  effect  of  this  systematic  course  of  culture  would  be  to  enhance 
greatly  the  interest  in  popular  elementary  instruction.  Now,  many 
parents  take  little  interest  in  the  public  school,  because  they  know 
that  when  their  children  get  a little  older,  not  wiser , they  can  send 
them  to  the  neighboring  academy — hence  they  do  not  disturb  them- 
selves over  the  inefficiency  they  know  to  exist.  But  once  let  them 
know  that  before  their  children  could  enter  any  higher  school,  they 
must  reach  a certain  point  of  attainment  in  the  district  school,  and 
they  would  be  more  alert  to  see  that  their  school  was  the  very 
best  it  could  be  made.  We  should  hear  less  of  the  enquiry  concern- 
ing teachers,  “How  much  ?”  and  more  of,  “Where  is  he  to  be  found?” 
Another  evil  is,  that  the  academy  and  its  strength  is  much  of  it  ex- 
pended in  imparting  elementary  knowledge,  when  they  should  confine 
themselves  to  a more  advanced  course  of  instruction.  Only  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  students  attending  academies  are  represented  as  at- 
tending to  the  higher  English  branches  or  classical  studies,  showing 
that  one-third  of  the  force  of  academies  is  expended  on  those  branches 
which  should  be  completed  in  the  primary  school. 

A systematic  plan  of  operation  like  what  I have  detailed,  where 
each  grade  of  institutions  is  but  a part  of  one  continuous  whole, 
each  taking  the  work  where  the  next  lower  leaves  it,  and  carrying 
it  on  toward  the  highest  ultimate  of  attainment,  requires  a system- 
atic plan  of  organization  throughout  the  state,  and  a uniform  system 
of  administration.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  administration  of 


16 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


affairs  relating  to  public  instruction  is  committed  in  part  to  the 
Regents,  in  part  to  the  State  Superintendent,  and  in  part  to  local 
authorities  with  diverse  powers.  This  division  is  fatal  to  harmonious 
or  efficient  action.  The  general  administration  of  educational  affairs, 
should  be  committed  to  one  department  or  body.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  define  the  characteristics  of  such  a body  too  minutely.  Still,  one 
or  two  features  may  be  noted.  It  should  possess  one  valuable  ele- 
ment belonging  to  the  Board  of  Regents,  and  that  is  permanence. 
Nothing  is  so  fatal  to  progress  in  educational  affairs,  as  a vacillating 
administration.  Still,  a life  tenure  may  be  attended  with  difficulty 
in  the  opposite  direction,  by  cumbering  the  administration  with  tena- 
cious, fossilized  ideas.  A board,  constituted  of  members  elected  for 
ten  or  twelve  years,  and  so  classified  that  one  or  two  should  go  out 
each  year,  would  seem  to  combine  the  conservative  and  progressive 
elements  in  due  proportion,  by  retaining  at  all  times  enough  of  the 
old  stock  to  prevent  any  sudden  or  radical  changes,  and  at  the  same 
time  infusing  into  it  from  the  spirit  and  enterprise  of  surrounding 
life,  some  wakeful  and  progressive  ideas.  To  such  a body  should  be 
committed  exclusively,  the  powers  and  trusts  relating  to  the  entire 
educational  system,  which  were  designed  to  be  conferred  upon  the 
Board  of  Regents  by  the  act  of  their  organization,  with  reference  to 
academies  and  colleges.  To  give  permanence  to  such  an  organiza- 
tion, its  powers  and  duties  should  be  defined  by  the  Constitution;  and 
legislative  action  upon  educational  matters  should  be  restricted  to 
such  as  the  board  itself  might  invoke.  We  find  this  principle  is  re- 
cognized in  the  consecration — by  constitutional  authority — of  a cer- 
tain part  of  the  revenues  of  the  state  to  educational  purposes.  The 
legislature  is  restrained  from  creating  debt;  are  not  the  educational 
interests  of  the  state  worthy  of  as  sacred  and  inviolate  guardian- 
ship ? 

The  Superintendent  should  be  the  executive  officer  of  the  whole 
school  department,  instead  of  a fragmentary  part  of  it — defining, 
judging  and  enforcing  the  ordinances  of  the  board,  as  he  now  does 
those  of  the  legislature. 

It  does  not  follow  that  a uniform  system  of  public  instruction, 
uniformly  administered,  would  not  regard  and  provide  for  the  vary- 
ing conditions  of  rural  districts,  populous  towns  and  large  cities.  It 
would  indeed  regard  these  conditions,  but  it  would  make  the  system 
uniform  among  them,  and  would  hold  the  special  authorities  to  whom 
their  school  affairs  should  be  committed,  in  such  wholesome  check  as 
should  promote  the  highest  educational  interests  from  being  sacrificed 
to  considerations  of  personal  or  political  advantage,  or  sectarian 
prejudice.  Our  towns  and  cities  present  opportunities  for  the  exem- 
plification of  the  highest  conditions  of  popular  education.  They  only 
need  to  be  harmonized,  directed  by  some  central  intelligence  to  rise 
superior  to  the  adverse  influences  which  now  hold  them  in  check,  but 
still  do  not  prevent  them  from  being  worthy  of  our  fostering  care 
and  glowing  pride. 

Other  incidental  differences  in  the  operation  or  administration  of 
the  different  branches  of  our  educational  system  may  be  briefly 
noticed. 

We  have  seen  that  the  teachers  of  the  common  school,  under  the 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


17 


general  laws,  are  required  to  hold  a certificate  of  qualification  from 
the  commissioner.  I will  not  speak  of  the  injustice  and  absurdity  of 
this  requirement,  and  how  it  finds  no  parallel  in  any  other  profession; 
lawyers,  doctors,  and  clergymen,  having  their  merits  passed  upon  by 
those  of  their  own  profession.  I shall  treat  of  it  only  as  a question  of 
policy  affecting  the  interests  of  education.  The  temptation  to  the  com 
missioner,  even  where  he  is  fully  competent  to  judge — to  yield  to  the 
importunity  of  friends,  especially  when  it  is  known  that  his  action 
may  have  much  influence  upon  his  popularity  and  subsequent  success, 
is  one  to  which  he  ought  not  to  be  exposed,  and  the  perils  of  which, 
to  the  cause  of  education,  need  only  to  be  suggested.  Other  conside- 
rations often  bear  upon  commissioners  and  cause  them  to  violate 
their  own  honest  judgment  in  the  discharge  of  this  function.  One 
commissioner  tells  me  that  in  his  district  there  are  normal  graduates, 
ladies,  who  can  not  get  employment  because  they  will  not  put  them- 
selves in  competition  with  misses  just  in  their  teens,  who  will  teach 
for  a dollar  or  ten  shillings  per  week.  And  the  trustees  insist  that 
he  shall  license  these,  whom  they  have  employed  inf  advance;  and  as 
a refusal  to  license  deprives  the  school  of  6its  share  of  the  public 
money,  whereby  the  children  may  lose  all  the  advantages  of  school, 
he  is  constrained  to  choose  the  less  of  two  evils,  and  certify  to  the 
qualifications  of  teachers  whom  he  knows  to  be  unqualified.  No 
teacher  should  be  regarded  as  qualified,  who  does  not  hold  the  certi- 
ficate or  diploma  of  some  responsible  educational  board  or  institution. 
These,  having*  a character  to  maintain,  would  be  apt  to  be  guarded  in 
their  endorsements.  Our  academies  and  colleges  do  practically  and 
without  any  prescribed  form,  what  all  institutions  of  learning  should 
do  systematically.  The  principal  usually  bears  the  diploma  of  the 
highest  educational  institutions  known  to  our  system,  and  his  subor- 
dinates are  subjected  to  his  critical  examination  before  they  become 
associated  with  him.  Here  we  have  the  testimony  of  educational 
men,  informally,  but  conclusively  given  to  the  qualifications  of  those 
called  upon  to  teach.  To  my  mind,  there  is  no  reform  more  vitally 
important  to  the  teacher’s  profession,  and  to  the  interests  of  educa- 
tion, than  this  at  which  I have  so  hastily  glanced;  I commend  it  to 
you  as  one  worthy  to  engage  your  serious  attention,  and  to  enlist 
your  earnest  efforts. 

There  are  other  features  of  our  educational  system  of  which  I had 
intended  to  treat,  but  the  waning  hour  admonishes  me  that  I am 
trespassing  upon  your  patience  too  far,  and  I can  only  briefly  advert 
to  them. 

The  pecuniary  provision  for  the  support  of  schools,  whether  it 
should  be  derived  from  a general  fund,  from  general  or  local  taxation, 
and  how  far  these  should  be  made  to  contribute  to  the  entire  support 
of  schools,  making  them  free;  the  ratio  of  distribution  among  the 
various  schools  of  the  state;  the  principle  or  doctrine  of  compulsory 
attendance  at  school;  the  mode  of  supervision;  the  provisions  for  the 
education  of  teachers  through  the  normal  school,  teachers’  institutes 
and  academic  classes;  are  topics  each  of  which  might  engage  our 
attention  most  worthily  for  an  hour.  But  they  must  pass  till  another 
occasion  shall  serve,  and  a worthier  voice  shall  speak  of  them  as 
their  importance  deserves. 

3 


18 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


[Oct. 


In  conclusion,  we  can  not  fail  to  be  impressed  concerning  our  sys- 
tem of  public  instruction,  that  it  comprises  features  and  accomplishes 
results  of  which  we  may  justly  be  proud.  Whatever  its  defects — 
decry  them  as  we  will  and  I have  not  been  sparing  in  my  strictures, — 
this  great  fact  yet  remains:  that  this  state  of  46,000  square  miles,  con- 
tains not  a home  within  its  borders,  that  is  not  embraced  within  the 
limits  of  a district,  furnished  with  facilities  for  elementary  instruction 
at  a merely  nominal  cost.  Nearly  one  million  of  children  were  instructed 
in  the  public  schools  of  the  state  during  some  portion  of  the  year  1856, 
at  an  average  cost  to  those  attending,  of  less  than  forty-six  cents  per 
pupil,  per  annum.  With  such  facts  as  these  before  us,  we  need  not  be 
utterly  cast  down.  Imperfect  though  we  have  found  it  to  be  in  de- 
tail, it  yet  comprises  in  some  of  its  departments  every  principle  of 
vital  efficiency.  Among  all  the  suggestions  for  improvement  which 
I have  seen  proper  to  make  not  one  is  an  innovation,  not  one  but  has 
its  practical  recognition  in  some  part  of  the  system.  I have,  as  I 
said  I should  at  the  outset,  suggested  nothing  new!  I have  but  called 
attention  to  existing  conditions  and  recognized  principles,  and  advo- 
cated the  more  extended  and  uniform  application  of  the  choicest 
features  disclosed.  We  have  all  the  elements  of  a noble  system; 
they  only  require  to  be  more  carefully  combined,  more  generally  and 
uniformly  applied,  more  intelligently  and  earnestly  wrought  into 
practical  organization.  It  requires  no  rapid  transition,  no  radical 
revolutionary  movement,  to  effect  all  that  we  need.  A calm,  judicious 
exercise  of  'power,  properly  vested,  could  in  a few  years  work  noise- 
lessly, yet  openly  and  apparently,  such  a transformation  in  the  prac- 
tical working  of  our  educational  system,  as  would  make  it  appear  to 
be  a new  creation;  and  yet  it  should  be  but  the  combination  and  ap- 
plication of  the  same  elements,  that  to  day  impart  to  it  whatever  of 
vital  efficiency  it  is  found  to  possess. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  this  desired  work,  you  teachers,  indi- 
vidually, and  especiall}*  in  your  associated  capacity,  can  do  much.  It 
is  your  fitting  field  of  effort.  No  nobler  honors,  nor  more  lasting 
fame  wait  on  aspiring  souls,  than  those  that  attend  on  him  whose 
name  becomes  identified  with  the  improvement  of  the  educational 
system  of  a state  like  ours.  Grant  me  this  boon,  and  let  the  trophies 
of  war,  the  pomp  of  heraldic  honors,  the  pride  of  power,  and  the 
homage  of  royalty  attend  their  struggling  votaries.  Bend  we  to  a 
holier  shrine — consecrate  are  our  energies  to  the  achievement  of 
infinite  purpose  and  the  determination  of  an  immortal  destiny.  Duly 
impressed  with  a sense  of  the  importance  of  these  truths,  as  a means 
to  the  elevation  and  improvement  of  your  profession,  animated  by  a 
worthy  zeal  to  contribute  to  so  grand  a consummation  as  the  perfec- 
tion of  the  educational  system  of  this  mighty  state,  you  should  study 
carefully  the  principles  of  instruction  and  general  educational  policy, 
make  each  day’s  experience  a lesson  for  all  future  time,  and  then 
keep  the  results  of  your  study  and  labor  constantly  before  the  people 
in  your  works  and  your  words,  talk  upon  them,  write  upon  them — 
agitate — agitate — not  frenziedly,  but  earnestly,  as  the  convictions  of 
truth  shall  urge,  and  in  due  time  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint  not. 

And  when  throughout  this  Empire  State,  there  shall  be  established 
a system  of  educational  facilities  extending  in  due  progression  from 


1858.] 


EDUCATIONAL  SYSTEM  OF  NEW  YORK. 


19 


the  simplest  elementary  instruction  to  the  highest  attainable  culture, 
open  alike  to  the  humblest  child  of  misfortune  and  the  proudest  sons 
of  rich  and  noble  sires,  all  blending  into  one  complete  harmonious 
effort  for  a common  purpose,  without  rivalry,  or  jealousy,  or  strife, 
but  infused  with  a generous  emulation,  each  to  fulfill  its  specific  work 
as  essential  to  the  completeness  of  the  effort — what  prouder  monu- 
ment of  our  greatness  and  glorjq  as  a free,  independent,  and  sovereign 
state,  shall  we  then  have?  We,  and  the  world,  listen  to  the  awe 
inspiring  tone  of  Niagara’s  undying  anthem,  or  lift  our  eyes  in  wrapt 
vision  to  the  grandeur  of  the  towering  Adirondacks,  or  muse  with 
serene  delight  upon  the  outspread  valleys  of  the  Genesee,  the  Mo- 
hawk, the  Hudson,  and  the  Susquehanna,  glowing  with  the  richness 
of  cultivated  fields,  peaceful  homes  and  abundant  harvests;  or  bear- 
ing to  our  ears  from  the  serene  distance,  on  the  tranquil  air,  the  hum 
of  earnest  toil  and  busy  traffic,  from  a hundred  towns  dotting  the 
surface  of  the  opening  landscape;  or  from  some  cloud-capped  summit 
of  the  Catskills,  with  one  majestic  sweep  of  vision  take  in  the  long 
extent  of  that  surpassing  valley,  wherein  the  swelling  sails,  the  rush- 
ing steamer,  and  the  eager  panting  train  bear  the  fruits  of  a conti- 
nent to  the  mart  of  the  western  world  lying  within  our  borders,  and 
reaching  forth  its  arms  to  gather  in  the  treasures  of  all  the  globe — 
and  what  wonder  that  our  hearts  should  swell  with  grateful  pride 
and  exultation  that  this  noble  heritage  is  ours! — yet  these  are  the 
monuments  of  time,  while  our  school  system,  from  its  relation  to  im- 
mortal destinies,  will  stand,  through  all  eternity,  an  enduring  monu- 
ment of  a nobler  heritage  and  a prouder  fame. 


